Irish employers facing worst skills shortage in 20 years – report
Irish employers have reported the greatest difficulty finding candidates with the right skills in 20 years, according to new research.
The annual ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey has recorded the highest skills shortage since the survey began, with 83% of employers saying they are struggling to find candidates.
Businesses said that IT and data skills are the hardest to find skillsets for the fourth consecutive year, followed by operations and logistics skills, engineering skills, sustainability skills, and customer-facing skills.
The survey found that the percentage of employers intending to offer hybrid or remote work has halved, from 38% in 2024 to 17% in 2025.
To find talent, employers said they are increasing job advertising budgets and offering flexibility over working hours, while 28% of respondents said they are upskilling and reskilling employees to bridge talent gaps.
“Businesses are keen to hire, but there simply aren’t enough candidates with the skills employers are looking for,” said Jonny Edgar, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup Ireland.
“The decline in hybrid work offers may be a counterproductive move while skilled talent remains in short supply, and employers going back to basics with office-based working requirements will face increased difficulty attracting candidates,” Mr Edgar said.
The ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey is based on responses from 420 employers across Ireland.
IT highest paid sector
Meanwhile, a separate report out today reveals that IT was the most highly paid sector in 2024.
The research from hiring platform IrishJobs shows that the average salary in the IT sector was €69,050 this was followed by construction with a figure of €63,502 and finance, which had an average salary of €63,165.
Head of Finance was the highest-paid occupation in 2024, with an average salary of €90,798.
The study shows that Dublin is the county with the highest annual average salary at €48,343.
According to the research, full-time employees in Ireland earned a mean gross salary of €46,791 in 2024.
Ireland compares positively to other European economies, with a median salary in the UK of £35,648 (€42,377) and €45,800 in Germany.
“With many employers struggling to keep pace with demands for higher wages, enhancing employee benefits can help employers develop a compelling proposition for talent without breaking the bank,” said Sam Dooley, Country Director of The Stepstone Group Ireland with responsibility for IrishJobs.
“Our findings showed that an occupational pension plan was the top benefit in 2024 for professionals in Ireland,” Mr Dooley said.
The research is based on an analysis of salaries and benefits for the most commonly posted jobs across a wide range of sectors undertaken by hiring platforms in The Stepstone Group in Ireland, the UK and Germany.
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